Embodiments of the inventive concept relate generally to electronic memory technologies. More particularly, embodiments of the inventive concept relate to multi-chip memory systems and methods of transferring data between memory devices of multi-chip memory systems.
Nonvolatile memory is a type of memory that retains stored data when disconnected from power. One popular form of nonvolatile memory is flash memory, which can be found in a wide range of modern electronic devices, such as computers, portable memory drives, home electronics, cellular phones, and digital cameras, to name but a few.
Most flash memories come in one of two cell array configurations, namely, a NAND flash configuration, and a NOR flash configuration. Flash memories with these two configurations are referred to as NAND flash memory and NOR flash memory, respectively.
In NOR flash memories, memory cells are independently connected to corresponding bitlines and wordlines. Due to this organization, NOR flash memories tend to have relatively efficient access timing. In NAND flash memories, memory cells are arranged in series between a bitline and a common source line so that multiple memory cells are accessed through a common pathway. Due to this organization, NAND flash memories tend to have a relatively high level of integration.
A plurality of memory devices can be integrated in a single memory system to provide a large amount of data storage. A memory system comprising multiple memory chips is referred to as a multi-chip memory system.